Biological Corridors Needed to Protect Species at Risk: Report From Canada

Biological Corridors and the Importance of Biological Corridors to Ensure Species Survival

We thought we would take a moment to discuss another part of the world where species are endangered and where biological corridors are needed. Let’s recall the idea of a biological corridor. A wildlife corridor is a route comprising a continuous, or nearly continuous, stretch of open land, woodland or water, which facilitates the movement of wildlife species, the aim of which is to prevent the genetic isolation of wildlife populations.

As we talked about in an earlier entry, ecoReserve is part of the Mesoamerican Biological Corridor and It was started in 1998 to keep 106 critically endangered species from going extinct. Biological corridors are required everywhere to ensure species survival.

A new report out of Canada says that ” Ensuring Canada’s woodland caribou, eastern wolf and other at-risk species survival will require bigger, more interconnected parks”. This report points to the importance of biological corridors being started in Canada to protect the survival of those at-risk species and once again highlighting the importance of setting up Biological Corridors around the world as a means of protecting all at-risk species and their habitats.

The report writes that “Canada’s parks are an uneven patchwork in terms of how much protection they offer endangered wildlife, and concluded the third annual review of how wildlife are faring in Canada’s parks released Friday by the Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society.

“There are quite a few [species] that in fact rely very heavily on parks as their main habitat,” said Eric Hébert-Daly, the group’s executive director. “Having really big parks, to keep large habitat in tact, having them connected to other protected areas is quite essential.”

“The smaller ones that aren’t connected tend to be the ones that have a hard time.””

The report praises the Canadian government and its efforts to create more parks, including the recently announced Gwaii Haanas National Marine Conservation Area in B.C., Sable Island in Nova Scotia and the Mealy Mountains in Newfoundland and Labrador.

It also notes that other efforts such as establishing a protective zone around Ontario’s Algonquin Park and connecting parks in the Rocky Mountains have had a positive effect on species like the eastern wolf and grizzly bear.

However some species (such as woodland caribou) are still struggling and this is mostly due to human activity.

“The moment you start developing roads, the predator-prey relationship gets unbalanced,” he said. Caribou may have a harder time fleeing and hiding from wolves, for example, and are very sensitive to development.”